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Topic: Engine swap--are all 327s the same? (Read 15706 times)

67 and older engines were vented from the oil filler and a canister in the lifter valley which led to a hole near the distributer. In 68 this canister and the hole went away. Ventilation was done with a hole in each valve cover, one to let air in and the other to draw out crankcase air. So when you look at a 67 engine there are no holes in the valve covers and 68,s had one in each. these are two different systems. The deal is if you want it look like a 67 you will need a 67 or older block. If you want it to look that correct.

I looked at some photos of the engine before I put it in storage. I was either lucky or knew what I was doing and subsequently forgot, b/c the covers are plain chrome and have holes in each cover.

I just googled some images from 68 Corvettes and found images that look familiar. The images show a metal elbow emerging from the passenger side valve cover leading to a rubber line that makes a turn and ducking under the rear of a big chrome air cleaner. The driver's side has a similar metal elbow and smaller diameter rubber hose but dives under the front of the air cleaner.

I think they go into the air cleaner, but I'm all googled out for the evening. Thanks for the help!

1967 and back 327s had a canister oil filter and a breather tube behind the intake manifold. In 1968 they went to a spin-on filter. '67-back 327s also had different cranks with different size bearings, so there is a small-journal and a large-journal 327, the '68 and '69 being the large-journal. Pre-68 327 cranks were forged, '68 and up were cast. In 1969 and some late '68s the heads were cast differently and the '69 heads had accessory bolt holes for the longer water pump. Hope this helps.

1967 and back 327s had a canister oil filter and a breather tube behind the intake manifold. In 1968 they went to a spin-on filter. '67-back 327s also had different cranks with different size bearings, so there is a small-journal and a large-journal 327, the '68 and '69 being the large-journal. Pre-68 327 cranks were forged, '68 and up were cast. In 1969 and some late '68s the heads were cast differently and the '69 heads had accessory bolt holes for the longer water pump. Hope this helps.

hotrod68--at this point, everything helps!

I remember complaining about the old canister oil filter on the original engine. Now I wish I had that old engine and canister to complain about!

Seems I'm "stuck" with the 68 look due to the PVC system, but I'm ok with that. I've made some other modest trade-offs/upgrades with this painfully slow home grown restoration, mostly for safety and drive-ability.

Somewhere in this forum I've seen discussion about engine mounts and motor mount bracket differences for different small engine/horsepower combinations on the 1st gen. Since my 327 motor will have much more output than the original 327, what recommendations on engine mounts/brackets would you make?

Rand.....you can put a Welch plug in the back of the early block and run a PCV system with no problem. There are kits to convert the canister filter to a spin-on filter as well. The early 327s were virtually indestructible on the bottom end because of the stronger crank. If you want the later block, any 350 will work. The only difference in a 350 and a 327 is the crank and the pistons, but you must use a large-journal crank with a 350 block. All had 5.7" rods. As far as engine mounts, they were all the same physically except for the Z/28 and 350 as far as I know. The higher-power engines used an interlock in the rubber instead of just solid rubber. As for me, I use the urethane mounts. They are stronger than the rubber mounts and they won't rot. They don't look original, but as for me they are far superior. The frame mounts are all the same as far as how everything bolts up. One other thing--the early 327s used a different, smaller harmonic balancer and the timing tabs on the timing cover were different because of the diameter and welded to the cover. Later engines used a bolt-on tab. With a hotrod buildup this becomes a moot point with speed parts, but it's one of the anomalies. Again....good luck and I hope this helps!

Somewhere in this forum I've seen discussion about engine mounts and motor mount bracket differences for different small engine/horsepower combinations on the 1st gen. Since my 327 motor will have much more output than the original 327, what recommendations on engine mounts/brackets would you make?